Argentinean saxophonist Oscar Feldman graduated from Berklee in 1992 and since then has made his home New York where he has played with among many others Al DiMeola and Paquito D'Rivera. Feldman’s penetrating alto saxophone sound is the best kind, in line with other alto masters like Ornette Coleman, Jackie McLean and Kenny Garrett, his tone cuts right to the emotional core, much like his countryman, the legendary, late Gato Barbieri. “Gol” is Feldman’s second recording as a leader and debut for Zoho featuring a strong cast: Leo Genovese on piano and keyboards, John Benitez on acoustic and electric bass, composer and vocalist Guillermo Klein, and Antonio Sanchez on drums.

The program is varied, of the eight selections only one “Viva Belgrano”, a tribute to Feldman’s hometown soccer team scoring a winning goal is from his pen. The saxophonist’s stellar rhythm section with the surging, highly in demand Sanchez running things from the engine room, is incredibly adept at bringing a larger orchestral scope to the music beyond just a basic quartet format. The approach is clearly evident on the ballads, like Klein’s poppish “La Cancion Que Falta” lending his rich vocals and lush Fender Rhodes and piano work, and “Murmillo”. Feldman’s gorgeous soprano saxophone solo, slowly climaxing on, “La Cancion Que Falta” is helped out wonderfully by Sanchez’s comping. On the latter ballad, Genovese’s piano comping and Sanchez’ gentle stream of cymbals behind Feldman’s emotional heightened solo greatly adds to implying much larger orchestrational textures. Of course, the drummer is no stranger to using a wide array of expert cymbal colorations navigating labyrinth compositional constructs as he has with Pat Metheny over a decade and his own band Migration. His intuitive use of cymbals and percussive accents at just the right moments add to the drama of both “La Cancion Que Falta” and “Murmillo” seeming absolutely massive. Klein’s subtle reverb kissed vocals at the close of “Murmillo” are a pleasing subtle touch. Details of orchestration are no less substantial on the nearly twelve minute exploration Beck’s “Nobody’s Fault But My Own” where Genovese’s muted and strummed strings in combination with overdubbed Rhodes add a mysterious North African flavor in tandem with Sanchez’ drums. Feldman’s alto phrasing at times hints at David Sanborn on the melody portion and he crafts a carefully thought out improvisation, later whipping himself into a fury on the long coda with burbling, popping synthesizer accents. ​Feldman’s “Viva Belgrano” contrasts an impassioned soccer announcer call with crafty use of a triple metered modal section and straight out swinging, that allow the listener to imagine a tension filled soccer match, the triple meter representing struggle of getting to score a goal, while when it relaxes slightly and transitions to swing, the joy and elation of scoring the goal. The saxophonist’s solo conjures up Cannonball Adderley in it’s laid back swing, and also in tone, at times Johnny Hodges. Sanchez’s solo over a vamp section on features his careful attention to motif building, exploding into a flurry of activity once the announcer’s excited scream is faded into the overall texture of the music, with a nice touch of a soccer stadium chant at the close of the piece. The entire band swings along nicely on Duke Pearson’s memorable “Is That So?” bringing the album the closest in spirit to it’s late 50’s-early 60’s Blue Note and Prestige style the album cover suggests. Genovese has his best playing on the set, springing forth with torrential double timed lines, and even delving into a subtle bit of stride piano. John Benitez trades eight bar phrases with Sanchez in this joyous number. Feldman’s attention to singable melodies is again showcased on a rendition of “I Feel Fine” in 7. Funkiness is mixed with drunken swinging, and closes the album nicely.

“Gol” is an example of passionate playing combined with a first rate group and compositions that show the importance of improvisations guided by strong melody. The fact contemporary pop tunes such as the Beck piece are included is important as well because it shows that jazz has to always remain relevant to the time in which the music is played. The music makes a strong argument also that Feldman is a terrific talent and deserves to be known alongside other great altos like Steve Coleman, Miguel Zenon, he is definitely in that class. Future offerings will be eagerly awaited.

Reviewed by CJ Shearn

ECM celebrates 50 years of music production with the Touchstones series of re-issues